Tophane

The Istanbul Cultural Road Festival, the 13th stop of the Turkish Cultural Road Festival, organized this year in 16 cities by the Culture and Tourism Ministry to contribute to Türkiye's brand value, kicked off at the weekend.

The exhibitions that opened on Sept. 28 as part of the festival attract great interest from art lovers.

The new building and exhibitions of Istanbul Modern, Türkiye's first modern and contemporary art museum, has opened on May 4. The official opening ceremony of the museum will be held later.

Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy has inaugurated the Beyoğlu and Başkent Culture Road Festival in Istanbul during its launch ceremonies in Istanbul and Ankara on the weekend.

The event in Istanbul opened with a photomarathon event joined by 1,500 photographers.

Balkan Naci İslimyeli, a leading figure in Turkish painting, died on April 13 at the age of 74, after losing a battle against cancer.

İslimyeli's sister Oya İslimyeli Ulutin announced his death on social media, saying, "We lost my dear brother Balkan Naci İslimyeli. Condolences to his fans and the art community."

The Beyoğlu Cultural Road Festival will be held between Oct. 29 and Nov. 14. At a recent meeting held at Galataport, Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy has said that the festival will be held twice a year in the spring and the fall seasons.

BASE, an exhibition event featuring works by new graduates of fine arts faculties, will bring together newly graduated young artists from all over Turkey with art lovers under the same roof in Istanbul.

The fifth edition of BASE will be organized at Istanbul's Tophane-i Amire between Sept. 29 Sept. and Oct. 3.

Zozo Toledo, 83, known as Turkey's first paparazzo and who has worked for Hürriyet daily for many years, has died in an Istanbul hospital where he was being treated for COVID-19.

The 83-year-old journalist, who was buried in the Hasköy Jewish Cemetery, photographed many famous names and Hollywood stars, including Grace Kelly, Brigitte Bardot and Sean Connery.

The Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki opened in 2001 with the aim of telling the story and preserving the memory of the northern port city's Jews with exhibits including heirlooms and testaments to their presence. On the occasion of the recent inauguration of its new wing, curator Evangelos Hekimoglu talks about the museum and the changes that the new wing represents.

Turkey's most expensive mansion, Tophane Müşiri Zeki Paşa Mansion, is on sale for 550 million Turkish Liras (approximately $95.5 million).

Fire in a five-story building in historical Beyoğlu district of Istanbul claimed four lives and left one injured, security sources said on March 3.